Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold
By Stephen Fry
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Publish Date: 2017
Pages: 410
Fiction/Non-Fiction: Fiction
Genre: History Mythology
Purchase Locations: Amazon and Kindle Audible Book Depository Booktopia Dymocks QBD
Synopsis
The Greek myths are the greatest stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce and Walt Disney.
They are embedded deeply in the traditions, tales and cultural DNA of the West. In Stephen Fry’s hands the stories of the titans and gods become a brilliantly entertaining account of ribaldry and revelry, warfare and worship, debauchery, love affairs and life lessons, slayings and suicides, triumphs and tragedies.
You’ll fall in love with Zeus, marvel at the birth of Athena, wince at Cronus and Gaia’s revenge on Ouranos, weep with King Midas and hunt with the beautiful and ferocious Artemis.
Thoroughly spellbinding, informative and moving, Stephen Fry’s Mythos perfectly captures these stories for the modern age – in all their rich and deeply human relevance.
My Thoughts
I feel as though I am biased towards this book. Not only do I LOVE Greek Mythology an insane amount, but I also love Stephen Fry, so I pretty much knew I was going to love ‘Mythos’. I was not wrong.
Not only are the myths fantastically re-written with additional dialogue and great character building – I don’t even know if that’s actually possible, but still – and amazing depth of information.
I started reading my physical copy of the book, however as soon as I saw that Stephen Fry was narrating his book on Audible I knew that I needed to listen to it. I decided to save to for my travels in Greece, just to get more of a feel of the book – completely unnecessary, but also totally worth it – which was an amazing choice. I listened as we drove all over the mainland on a tour of ancient sites, many of which are mentioned throughout the myths and it was amazing to see these places as I was experiencing the story.
Fry adds great depth and detail, as well as opinions to his retelling to really give the gods and their stories incredible depth and dimension.
This is a book I will be revisiting again and again, listening to the stories of the Classical period in Greece’s history. (When I’m not devouring the Rick Riordan series that is)
My Rating
Plot: 9/10
Ease of reading: 5/10
Character Development: 8/10
World Building: 8/10
Quality of Writing: 8/10
Stars: 5/5
Is there anything you would read without question?
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